


When the Beating of Your Heart (Echoes the Beating of the Drum)

by Telaryn



Category: Captain America (Movies), Wonder Woman (2017)
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Inspired by Real Events, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Politics, Talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-08-12 03:01:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20136514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Telaryn/pseuds/Telaryn
Summary: After an unsuccessful meeting with the Senate Majority Leader, Diana of Themiscryia and Steve Rogers discuss their next move in dealing with the epidemic of mass shootings currently plaguing the country.





	When the Beating of Your Heart (Echoes the Beating of the Drum)

**Author's Note:**

> And so, since AO3 counted my last fic as an extension of my first, we come to my honest to goodness 300th separate posting on AO3. What a long, strange trip it's been.
> 
> Written in the aftermath of the El Paso and Dayton shootings - August, 2019.

“Sometimes I wish I didn’t heal so quickly. I remember there was always something weirdly satisfying about the pain.”

Even in the rapidly fading light, Diana could see the point where Steve’s fist had impacted the tree. Drops of blood still stained what was left of the bark, and she spotted bits of twigs and leaves still clinging to the captain’s uniform. “Physical pain is always easier to deal with than emotional,” she said, taking his right hand in her two and checking it for damage. There was none – of course – only faint pink lines where healing had already taken place. She hadn’t spent all that much time with Captain America, but she’d already figured out that within the hour even that bit of evidence would be lost.

“I’m just glad you hit the tree instead of his face,” she said finally, letting go and stepping back. “The way the conversation was heading, I…”

That sparked a snort of laughter from Rogers. “Conversation? Princess, that wasn’t a conversation. Part of conversing with someone is the two of you listening to each other. He didn’t hear a damn thing either one of us said!”

There wasn’t anything Diana could really say to that, so she didn’t try. “I’ve been contacted by a few of the national news outlets,” she said, finally. “CNN, Washington Post, that kind of thing.”

Steve snorted again, and the smile that curled his lips was anything but happy. “Fox News reached out to me. Looking for the God, flag and country angle to the whole conversation.”

Now it was Diana’s turn to smile ruefully. It wasn’t the first time the hard-right network had reached out to Steve for comment on this or that; it had nearly always ended badly. There seemed to be something encoded in certain people’s DNA that made it impossible for them to accept that Captain America might not agree with their views on patriotism and what it meant to be an American. “Are you going to do it?”

His smile went mischievous, but out loud all he said was “I haven’t decided yet. I need to figure out whether doing press is the right next move, or if there’s a better use of my time – some angle I haven’t considered yet.”

_Next step._ The chaotic relationship of the American government to its people was still so far outside Diana’s experience it tended to make her head spin. _It’s also why I stayed in Europe for so long,_ she was forced to acknowledge – not for the first time missing the serenity of her offices in the Louvre. “You said that Senator McConnell was the person we needed to reach out to, but aren’t there more powerful people in government?”

Exhaling softly, Steve leaned against the tree. “More powerful, yes – but outside of the president, no one person is better positioned to do something useful about these shootings.”

Diana didn’t bother bringing up the idea of the two of them going to speak to the president. If he hadn’t been such a mean-spirited soul and hurt so many people, she might have felt sorry for Donald Trump and the position he’d found himself in. “Fox News isn’t going to want to put me on camera,” she mused, thinking that her status as woman and foreigner doubly-damned her in their eyes. “How practical would it be to reach out to some of the grass-roots organizations? Lend our support?”

Steve was quiet for a long moment, considering her suggestion. “I think it’s probably our best bet. If anything’s going to move on a Congressional level now, it’s going to take a lot of pressure. There’s no motivation for the rich and powerful to get involved…” He sighed.

“Surely with two of these confrontations in less than a day,” Diana began, but Steve only shook his head.

“We can’t wait on the decency of rich white men – the people can’t wait.”

She’d made a point of visiting each site of violence in the past handful of years – doing her best not to get in the way, but trying to offer what hope and comfort she could – and Diana knew that what Steve was saying was very much the truth. “If it’s going to involve people taking to the streets, maybe you need to take the lead with these groups.”

To her surprise, Rogers shook his head. “I’m going to take Fox News up on their offer. I figure I can get at least a couple of minutes of sanity over their airwaves before they cut me off. You reach out to the groups. Start with March for Our Lives and work out from there.”

Resolve had abruptly replaced despair on Rogers’ handsome face, but Diana was still compelled to ask, “Are you sure?”

He nodded. “You’ve got a better control of your temper. Put me in the thick of it right now, and I’m going to end up doing a lot worse than just punching a tree.”


End file.
